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A UCC Response to Anne Rice (#0126)

2010/07/31 By Greg

 

Anne Rice, the best-selling American author whose books have sold more than 100 million copies, announced on Wednesday that she has quit being a Christian.  

According to the AP, Rice was “raised as a Catholic, she had rejected the church early in her life but renewed her faith in recent years and in 2008 released the memoir Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession.”  Other sources suggest that her progressive views have been at odds with the Roman Catholic tradition for some time and that this decision is a logical conclusion to that struggle. 

Rice chose to publicize her decision on Wednesday, July 28 via facebook posts:

For those who care, and I understand if you don’t: Today I quit being a Christian. I’m out. I remain committed to Christ as always but not to being “Christian” or to being part of Christianity. It’s simply impossible for me to “belong” to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group. For ten …years, I’ve tried. I’ve failed. I’m an outsider. My conscience will allow nothing else. (1:36 p.m.)

As I said below, I quit being a Christian. I’m out. In the name of Christ, I refuse to be anti-gay. I refuse to be anti-feminist. I refuse to be anti-artificial birth control. I refuse to be anti-Democrat. I refuse to be anti-secular humanism. I refuse to be anti-science. I refuse to be anti-life. In the name of …Christ, I quit Christianity and being Christian. Amen.  (1:41 p.m.)

To connect with Anne Rice,  consider liking her on facebook, following her on twitter, or visiting her website.

So What?

Many people have responded directly to her facebook posts and hundreds of blog posts have been written about her decision.  To date, the United Church of Christ has been more active than any other denomination in seeking to affirm Rice’s remarks.

The Rev. Geoffrey A. Black, General Minister and President of the 1.1 million member United Church of Christ responded, “I am certain that Anne Rice’s public repudiation of Christianity has been a difficult, but seemingly necessary step for her to live authentically as a person of faith and reason.  . .  Many in the United Church of Christ can understand and appreciate her insistence that she must follow a God of love, justice and inclusion. . . Too often we have confused following Christ with defending the institutional church, and we have unnecessarily insisted that we must be of one mind, instead of one heart. . . Hopefully, declarations such as Anne’s will challenge and alter our definitions of Christian discipleship and, in the process, change the church itself. I, along with many in the UCC, share Anne Rice’s commitment to a personal relationship with Christ that affirms life in its fullness and diversity. . ..”

Additionally, Rev. J. Bennett Guess, Communications Director for the United Church of Christ initiated the Facebook campaign, “You’d Like the UCC, Anne Rice.”

How does your congregation welcome those who, like Anne Rice, have quit being Christian yet desire to follow Christ?

A day after the initial disclosure, Rice wrote these words on facebook: “My faith in Christ is central to my life. My conversion from a pessimistic atheist lost in a world I didn’t understand, to an optimistic believer in a universe created and sustained by a loving God is crucial to me. But following Christ does not mean following His followers. Christ is infinitely more important than Christianity and always will be, no matter what Christianity is, has been, or might become.”  How is her critique of the institutional church helpful to you and to your local community of faith?

Consider the image of both your congregation and denomination.  Would outsiders more readily recognize what you stand for or what you are against?

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Greg Smith

Greg is a follower of the Way of Jesus who strives to make the world a better place for all people. Currently, he serves as Chief Executive Officer of White Rock Center of Hope and as Interim Senior Pastor of Advent Lutheran Church. He has served ten congregations, taught religion to undergraduates for eight years, and helped three organizations provide quality healthcare to underserved populations. (Read More)

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